The Patience Stone (film)

The Patience Stone
Directed by	Atiq Rahimi
Produced by	Michael Gentile
Written by	Atiq Rahimi Jean-Claude Carrière
Starring	Golshifteh Farahani Hamid Djavadan Massi Mrowat Hassina Burgan
Music by	Max Richter
Cinematography	Thierry Arbogast
Edited by	Hervé de Luze
Release dates	11 October 2012 (2012-10-11) (London Film Festival)
Country	Afghanistan, France
Language	Dari

The Patience Stone (Persian: سنگ صبور‎‎) is a 2012 French-Afghan war drama film directed by Atiq Rahimi, based on his novel of the same title. Written by Jean-Claude Carrière and the director, the film stars Golshifteh Farahani, Hamid Djavadan, Massi Mrowat, and Hassina Burgan.

The film was selected as the Afghan entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, although it was not nominated.^[1] Golshifteh Farahani was nominated for the Most Promising Actress award at the 39th César Awards.^[2]

Plot

Somewhere, in Afghanistan or elsewhere, in a country torn apart by a war... A young woman in her thirties watches over her older husband in a decrepit room. He is reduced to a vegetative state because of a bullet in the neck. Not only is he abandoned by his companions of the Jihad, but also by his brothers.

One day, the woman decides to tell the truth to her silent husband, explaining to him her feelings about their relationship . She talks about her childhood, her suffering, her frustrations, her loneliness, her dreams, her desires. She says things she could never have done before, even though they have been married for the past 10 years. Therefore, this paralyzed man unconsciously becomes sang-e sabour, a magic stone which, according to Persian mythology, when placed in front of a person shields her from unhappiness, suffering, pains and miseries.

In her wait for her husband to come back to life, the woman struggles to survive and live. She finds refuge in her aunt's place, who is a prostitute, and the only relative who understands her. The woman seeks to free herself from suffering through the words she delivers audaciously to her husband. But after weeks looking after him, she will actually reveal herself in the relationship she starts with a young soldier.

Cast

• Golshifteh Farahani as The woman
• Hamid Djavadan as The man (as Hamidreza Javdan)
• Hassina Burgan as The aunt
• Massi Mrowat as The young soldier
• Mohamed Al Maghraoui as The mullah (as Mohamed Maghraoui)
• Malak Djaham Khazal as The neighbor

Critical reception

The Patience Stone has a 'fresh' rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.^[3]

See also

• List of submissions to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Afghan submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

External links

• Official site at Sony Pictures Classics
• The Patience Stone at the Internet Movie Database
• The Patience Stone at Box Office Mojo
• The Patience Stone at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Patience Stone at Metacritic